FOUR ROSES SMALL BATCH LIMITED EDITION
2023 ReleaseMASH BILL – blend of two: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% barley / 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley (Four Roses recipes OBSV, OESK, OESV)
PROOF – 108
AGE – blend of 12, 14, 16, and 25-year bourbons
DISTILLERY – Four Roses Distillery
PRICE – $304 tax and all (msrp $200)
WORTH BUYING? – Not at this price, no.
After clocking out early one recent Friday afternoon, I cracked open this bottle of the Four Roses Small Batch L.E. from 2023. The sun was out and the weather warm, late summer tilting toward autumn. I took my glass out into the backyard. The bourbon was very good, as I’d expected it would be. Its layered oak notes paired well with the old oak fence I was seated next to, surrounded by a garden of flowers and grasses anticipating autumn’s cooler weather.
And I was bored. Or, the bourbon was boring—excellent but with no surprises. Just another in a series of good, oaky Four Roses L.E. releases.
Was it the bourbon? Was it me? Has Four Roses run out of ideas? Have years of whiskey tasting spoiled me? Or is the current state of the world just way too interesting unto itself for an exceptional bourbon to be more than an afternoon’s drink?
Before delving into those or any other such questions, let’s taste the bourbon.
Here we are, four days after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.
COLOR – a range of rustic autumnal oranges with brass and fiery highlights
NOSE – sweet vanilla and caramel, dried raspberries and strawberries, clouds of rye and oak spice, the layers of oak continuing to unfold as it takes air, eventually cinnamon and brown sugar
TASTE – refined oak slathered in caramel, then vanilla, tart red berries alongside the dried fruits, faint chocolate and coffee grounds
FINISH – the oak continues on and on, carrying the subtler caramel and dried fruit notes
OVERALL – an excellent, very oaky Kentucky bourbon
It’s good. If you like oak. The youngest bourbon in the mix is aged 12 years, and that’s already going to provide plenty of oak. No doubt the 25-year bourbon makes up a minimal component of the overall blend. But I do not doubt it’s making itself known among those many lovely layers of oak unfolding from the nose through the taste and on into the finish.
So what’s my problem? Why not just appreciate and enjoy it?
A couple reasons.
First, I paid a goodly sum for it after waiting in line at a New Year’s “unicorn” sale last year, when 2024 clicked over into 2025. By the time I got to the counter, bottles left over from previous years were all that was left. Picking this up felt like a bit of a consolation prize. I knew I was buying it in order to have gotten something for my investment of time. You don’t want to wait in line all morning and walk away with nothing to show for it. And I’ve liked every Four Roses Small Batch L.E. I’ve had. So I kicked off 2025 with a splurge.
But at this point in my whiskey journey I’m not surprised by most of the bourbons that have been saddled with “unicorn” status. They’re always good. That’s why people stumble over themselves to get them. But $300 good?
I’m too aware that the Calumet 16 is also quite good at less than half the price. Not as refined or complex as this Four Roses, for sure. But thoroughly enjoyable in its own way for any oaky bourbon fan.
I’m likewise too aware of the many ~15-year Knob Creek SiBs I’ve enjoyed for $55 or so. Sure, those aren’t around anymore. But I won’t at all be surprised if they have a revival. Jim Beam is pumping out so much bourbon these days! And they’re not alone. Age statements are coming back. Prices are still high. But it’s surprising now what sits on shelves. I got this 2023 Four Roses at the dawn of 2025, after all.
So that’s availability and price. Then there’s accumulated experience. I’ve been privileged to enjoy many good whiskeys over the years. And I’m not even the most widely sipped sipper out there! Brands that used to make me sit back in a silent wow just don’t anymore. You get used to things. Booker’s used to thrill me. I still have five bottles in my bunker that I bought in those heady days. I don’t find myself reaching for them.
Similarly, I know any BTAC will be good. But that’s the problem: I know it will be good. At this point, if I’m going to pay three digits for a bottle of whiskey, I want some surprise for my money.
I remember when I used to love Cirque du Soleil. Every time they came to town I rushed to buy tickets. I stood in line at sold out shows with fingers crossed, like I did last January in hopes of a unicorn bourbon. But after a handful of Cirque shows I found myself growing bored. They were always amazing. No surprises. I’d sit there thinking, Is that all you’ve got? Being amazing in that same way every time? I haven’t seen one of their shows in years.
And finally, there’s the current state of the world. I don’t shy away from politics here on this blog, though I don’t generally make them the main subject. But America has never before dealt firsthand with a totalitarian regime attempting a hostile takeover. And that’s going to be far more interesting from day to day than any hobby.
So the best a whiskey can do right now is provide a momentary distraction. This Four Roses doesn’t achieve that for me. It delivers everything I expected it might—great aromas and flavors, complexity, pure savory and sweet bourbon pleasure. But nothing unexpected to really grab my attention.
So maybe it’s not that this bourbon is boring or that I’m bored. Perhaps there are simply much more important things occupying my attention. In that case a lackluster interest in a fantastic bourbon is appropriate, and probably a good thing.
If you were to suggest I’m asking too much of bourbon, I wouldn’t argue with you. To be sure, it’s not a thought in my mind that anything to do with whiskey could ever be as interesting as national or world history unfolding (unraveling?) before our eyes. Whiskey’s just not that important. But I do think it’s reasonable to hope a whiskey might at least provide a break from it all. It’s just the stakes are so high at the moment, it’s gonna have to be a really unusual whiskey!
I hope I find one. And although this Four Roses isn’t it, it’s still great bourbon and the money I paid is long gone, so, might as well enjoy it while I can.
Cheers!
The Right Spirit 